1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a non-metallic in-the-bed or portable fuel tank for expanding the fuel capacity of a vehicle or for fueling vehicles in locations distant from fuel pumps.
2. Background Art
All vehicles have a limited capacity fuel tank. For basic everyday driving, the limited capacity of the fuel tank is not normally an issue. There are many situations, however, where the limited capacity of a vehicle's fuel tank may become an issue. For example, larger vehicles such as pickup trucks burn a lot more fuel than a small vehicle commuting to and from an office. These vehicles may also travel in areas where there are no fuel stations. This makes additional fuel capacity a necessity in many situations.
In order to increase the fuel capacity of a vehicle, people have designed replacement or transfer fuel tanks. These replacement or transfer fuel tanks have been around for decades.
Replacement fuel tanks are simply larger capacity fuel tanks that fit into the same location that the original fuel tank was in. These tanks are, however, limited by the space available where the original fuel tank was located.
Transfer fuel tanks are secondary fuel tanks that may be placed in other locations of the vehicle. For example, a secondary fuel tank could be placed in the bed of a truck. As the fuel level drops in the original fuel tank, the transfer fuel tank is accessed by the vehicle automatically or by a switch.
In other situations, such as at an autoshop or a dealership, a portable fuel tank may be desired so that vehicles which have had their fuel drained can be refueled in place. In these situations a portable tank that is lightweight, durable and corrosion resistant is desired.
These portable, replacement and transfer fuel tanks have always been made from metal. Metal tanks have many problems, however, including their weight and corrodibility.
Accordingly, what is needed is a non-metallic fuel tank that is lightweight and corrosion resistant.